The researchers believe the VLF signals may be keeping the Belts from creeping closer.īut the VLF signal is not the only human activity affecting space. But according to satellite data, before VLF signals went into wider use in the 1960s, the Van Allen Belts stretched closer to the Earth. The data from these probes suggest that the outer edge of the VLF transmission corresponds with a layer of charged particles at the inner edge of the Van Allen Belts. The discovery was made using the Van Allen Probes, spacecraft launched in 2012 to monitor the bands of charged particles surrounding the Earth. Researchers report the find this week in the journal Space Science Review. As Marina Koren writes for The Atlantic, "The bubble forms a protective barrier around Earth, shielding the planet from potentially dangerous space weather, like solar flares and other ejections from the sun." This ephemeral bubble adds to the already protective magnetosphere, encompassing our planet. There, the signals interact with charged particles, changing their movement.īut the changes might not all be bad. One common use is for submarine communication, which works due to the penetrative capacity of the lengthy VLF waves. But a new study suggests that human activity is also influencing the space around our planet this is on top of the space junk already swirling around out there. Very Low Frequency (VLF) broadcasts have created a planetary cocoon, shielding the planet from high energy particle radiation, according to a NASA press release.Īs David Grossman at Popular Mechanics reports, VLF radio requires a massive antenna for detection-so they're only used for special purposes. There’s hardly anything on Earth that has escaped human influence-from the oceans to the atmosphere.
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